CONI requests four year ban for Gianni Savio in doping investigation

Announcing its decision today, the Italian National Olympic Committee CONI has recommended that the Italian team director Gianni Savio be given a four year suspension from the sport in relation to anti-doping investigations.

CONI has referred the matter to its National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA), stating that it is doing so under article 2.8 of the WADA Code. It added that it is basing its decision on documents sent to it by the prosecutor of Massa and also from the findings of investigations carried out.

Article 2.8 of the WADA Code relates to the provision of banned products or substances, and also to covering up their use. The precise WADA wording is as follows:

2.8: Administration or Attempted administration to any Athlete In-Competition of any Prohibited Method or Prohibited Substance, or administration or Attempted administration to any Athlete Out-of-Competition of any Prohibited Method or any Prohibited Substance that is prohibited Out-of-Competition, or assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up or any other type of complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation or any Attempted anti-doping rule violation.

In May of this year it emerged that a rider who competed for Savio in the past, Luca de Angeli, had accused him of dealing doping products. De Angeli competed with the team in 2003 and 2005 and tested positive for EPO.

Savio denied the allegations, saying that he wouldn’t know what EPO even looks like. He claimed De Angeli had a ‘vendetta’ against him, and told Tuttobici that the claims were ‘crazy accusations by two very dubious people.’

In response, De Angeli told the same publication that his version of events would be backed up by another rider. “The trial documents will say the last word and then even money or friendships won’t be able to bury the whole thing.”

Responding to the news that CONI had moved the case forward, Savio issued a statement today again denying the charges. “The measure referred to me with a request for disqualification of four years has originated from the defamatory and baseless accusations by a former rider, which already appeared in some media in the month of May, on the eve of the departure of the Tour of Italy . I filed a complaint for slander and defamation at the Court of Massa and against the former athlete.”

He said that De Angeli and his parents are currently being investigated over the claims, and that he is ‘serenely awaiting’ the TNA hearing.